Stern, Moshe (Max)

Moshe, son of Bracha and Mannis Stern, was born in 1910 in Brody, Eastern Galicia. When he was three years old, his family moved to Vienna. In Vienna he attended elementary school, graduated from high school, and began his university studies. That was where his public activity also began. Because of his political activities he was deported from Vienna after the suppression of the Schutzbund uprising. In 1934 he immigrated to Eretz Israel. In the years 1938-1939, during the riots, Moshe, who had previously joined the Haganah, was a guard at the Jewish settlements police and served in Atlit. At the outbreak of the War of Independence, he was a member of the Givati ​​Brigade and participated in guarding activities in the area. On September 23, 1948, the outpost he was guarding was attacked by local Arabs unexpectedly. The defenders of the outpost were surprised and forced to retreat in light of the enemy’s superiority, and many were injured in the severe retreat. The next day, our forces attacked and conquered the outpost. In this battle, Moshe fell on the 20th of Elul 5708 (24.9.1948) and was brought to rest in the military cemetery in Nahalat Yitzhak, leaving behind his wife, Chana, and their daughter.